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The Order of Adjectives

The document discusses the order of adjectives in English. It states that adjectives generally follow a specific order: quantity, opinion, size, age, shape, color, origin, material, purpose. It provides examples of different types of adjectives that fit into these categories. The document also notes that multiple adjectives describing a noun should be connected with hyphens for clarity.

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261 views2 pages

The Order of Adjectives

The document discusses the order of adjectives in English. It states that adjectives generally follow a specific order: quantity, opinion, size, age, shape, color, origin, material, purpose. It provides examples of different types of adjectives that fit into these categories. The document also notes that multiple adjectives describing a noun should be connected with hyphens for clarity.

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Baltocris Zurc
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© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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THE ORDER OF ADJECTIVES

An adjective is a word that describes, identifies, modifies, or quantifies something (a noun or a pronoun). In the phrase, "the black cat" the word
black is an adjective because it describes the cat.
In English, an adjective usually comes before the noun it pertains to (for example, a red apple or a cute cat.).
Adjectives can be classified into many categories. In English, adjectives are generally used in the order: quantity-->opinion-->size-->age-->shape->color-->origin-->material-->purpose. Some of these categories are (roughly in the order in which adjectives are used in English):

quantity - few, no, one, two, three, four, little, several, many, all, some, every, each, ...
opinion - good, better, best, bad, worse, worst, wonderful, splendid, mediocre, awful, fantastic, pretty, ugly, clean, dirty, wasteful, difficult,
comfortable, uncomfortable, valuable, worthy, worthless, useful, useless, important, evil, angelic, rare, scarce, poor, rich, lovely, disgusting,
amazing, surprising, loathesome, unusual, usual, pointless, pertinent, ...
personality/emotion - happy, sad, excited, scared, frightened, outgoing, funny, sad, zany, grumpy, cheerful, jolly, carefree, quick-witted,
blissful, lonely, elated, ...
sound - loud, soft, silent, vociferous, screaming, shouting, thunderous, blaring, quiet, noisy, talkative, rowdy, deafening, faint, muffled, mute,
speechless, whispered, hushed, ...
taste - sweet, sour, acidic, bitter, salty, tasty, delicious, savory, delectable, yummy, bland, tasteless, palatable, yummy, luscious, appetizing,
tasteless, spicy, watery, ...
touch - hard, soft, silky, velvety, bumpy, smooth, grainy, coarse, pitted, irregular, scaly, polished, glossy, lumpy, wiry, scratchy, rough,
glassy, ...
size, weight - heavy, light, big, small, little, tiny, tall, short, fat, thin, slender, willowy, lean, svelte, scrawny, skeletal, underweight, lanky,
wide, enormous, huge, vast, great, gigantic, monstrous, mountainous, jumbo, wee, dense, weighty, slim, trim, hulking, hefty, giant, plump,
tubby, obese, portly, ...
smell - perfumed, acrid, putrid, burnt, smelly, reeking, noxious, pungent, aromatic, fragrant, scented, musty, sweet-smelling,...
speed - quick, fast, slow, speeding, rushing, bustling, rapid, snappy, whirlwind, swift, hasty, prompt, brief, ...
temperature - hot, cold, freezing, icy, frigid, sweltering, wintry, frosty, frozen, nippy, chilly, sizzling, scalding, burning, feverish, fiery,
steaming, ...
age - young, old, baby, babyish, teenage, ancient, antique, old-fashioned, youthful, elderly, mature, adolescent, infantile, bygone, recent,
modern, ...
distance - short, long, far, distant, nearby, close, faraway, outlying, remote, far-flung, neighboring, handy, ...
shape - round, circular, square, triangular, oval, sleek, blobby, flat, rotund, globular, spherical, wavy, straight, cylindrical, oblong, elliptical,
zigzag, squiggly, crooked, winding, serpentine, warped, distorted, ...
miscellaneous qualities- full, empty, wet, dry, open, closed , ornate, ...
brightness - light, dark, bright, shadowy, drab, radiant, shining, pale, dull, glowing, shimmering, luminous, gleaming, ...
color - pink, red, orange, yellowish, dark-green, blue, purple, black, white, gray, brown, tanned, pastel, metallic, silver, colorless, transparent,
translucent, ...

time - early, late, morning, night, evening, everlasting, initial, first, last, overdue, belated, long-term, delayed, punctual, ...
origin/location - lunar, northern, oceanic, polar, equatorial, Floridian, American, Spanish, Canadian, Mexican, French, Irish, English,
Australian, ...
material - glass, wooden, cloth, concrete, fabric, cotton, plastic, leather, ceramic, china, metal, steel, silicon, ...
purpose - folding, swinging, work, racing, cooking, sleeping, dance, rolling, walking, ...

Using Hyphens for Compound Adjectives


Some adjectives are used as a group to provide a description; if the group of words form a single idea and are used before the noun, they should be
connected by hyphens to make their meaning clear. Common examples of hyphenated adjectives include black-and-white, 6-foot-tall, 5-years-old,
problem-solving, mother-in-law and fight-or-flight. A wonderful example of hyphenated adjectives is George Orwell's description of being from the
lower-upper-middle class.

Example of the Sequence of Multiple Adjectives in Chart Form:


QUANTITY

OPINION

five

SIZE

AGE

huge

young

SHAPE

shapeless

COLOR

ORIGIN

black

Canadian

gray

MATERIAL

PURPOSE

NOUN

bears

battered

old

cotton

work

pants

many

magnificent

antique

British

reference

books

one

studious

teenaged

American

boy

few

shiny

Indian

gems

many

well-made

tiny

several

cheap

large

round

blue

elongated

brown

wooden

fishing

boats

purple

polyester

sleeping

bags

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